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Jeremy's Wikipaper: Chatroulette (Nov. 13th)
Guiding Question Does the ubiquitous sense of connectivity on the Internet ultimately promote sociability or alienation? About Chatroulette Function Chatroulette combines the face-to-face interaction of Skype with the open-ended connectivity of an anonymous chatroom. The site randomly pairs two users from anywhere around the world for a video call. One user simply needs to tap the next' button to terminate one conversation and activate another. Origins The website was developed in November 2009 by Andrey Ternovsky, a 17-year-old high school student from Moscow. Ternovsky created the original website in only three days on an old computer in his bedroom. Originally the project was shunned by his peers, so Ternovsky spread word of the website over various Web forums. Revenue In its early stages, the creator of Chatroulette did not receive a profit from his Google AdWords, because he was under 18 years old. Coming from amateur origins, Ternovsky’s biggest financial boost was a $10,000 investment from his parents. The site then began to earn revenue off of advertising for an online dating site. As of 2010, users who were banned from the site were then redirected to Penthouse, an explicit pornography site. This resulted in more than a doubled increase of revenue for the site compared to earlier in 2010. Demographics A study conducted back in 2010 provided the following information about the average Chatroulette user: *89% Male / 11% Female *92% Solo / 8% Group *1/3 Females appear in groups *1/12 Males appear in groups *1/8 Video streams are sexually explicit in nature While there is little information available as to the current demographics of the website, one can track the users of Chatroulette in real-time, on ChatrouletteMap , a third-party website. Alternative Usages, Potentialities The site is versatile and polysemic in nature, and can be used as a vehicle for a variety of goals depending on the user’s interests. Speaking to The New York Times, Ternovsky said of the site: Gaming & Play The "social Web site" was discussed at length in the ''New York Times ''by tech writer Nick Bilton , who praised the site as "a glimpse into a surreal future, a turn in the direction of the Internet." Tapping into the trend of social gaming, the primary use of the site (roughly 87% of its participants) are using Chatoulette as a fun, social, 'gaming' experience. : “Everyone finds his own way of using the site. Some think it is a game, others think it is a whole unknown world, others think it is a dating service. I think it’s cool that such a concept can be useful for so many people. Although some people are using the site in not very nice ways -- I am really against it.” : Pornography A study conducted in 2010 determined that 1/8, or roughly 13% of video streams on Chatroulette were pornographic or 'R' rated in nature. This has resulted in a lot of controversy for the site, which High profile psychiatrist Dr. Keith Ablow publicly advised that “parents should keep all their children off the site because it’s much too dangerous for children. It’s a predator’s paradise. This is one of the worst faces of the Internet that I’ve seen." Further, and central to the paper's guiding question, Ablow posited that the site it "disconnecting human relationships rather than connecting them.” Cyber-Art Being such a high profile platform, Chatroulette attracted a fair amount of attention from Cyber Artists who sought to exploit and explore the site as an artistic vehicle. A notable example includes artists Eva and Franco Mattes who staged a scene of a man hanging himself, and proceeded to stream this footage over Chatroulette, recording their viewers' reactions. More recently, ''NOAH Short was a short film created that premiered at TIFF by a young student that depicted "a story that plays out entirely on a teenager's computer screen, Noah follows its eponymous protagonist as his relationship takes a rapid turn for the worse in this fascinating study of behaviour (and romance) in the digital age." The film utilized a variety of social media website, and reached its conclusion through a partly staged, partly documented film of Chatroulette. Left lonely and rejected by his brash actions on other forms of social media, the film's eponymous Noah turns to Chatroulette as a from of immediate social connection. Demise The site has seen a large decline in usage since late 2010, though the site still remains active to this day. Gawker, the international news/gossip site posted an article in October 2013 titled R.I.P. Chatroulette: A Sad Tale of Missed Opportunity. The article outline the many failures of the site, most notably the moderators' inability to properly exterminate X-rated content from the site, and Ternovsky's stubbornness in overseeing the evolution of the site. Splinters Chatoulette has seen its far share of imitators, all of which benefit from exploring different niches of the website. Developers have created roulettes for G-rated dating, friendship building, and of course, both hetero and homosexual explicit content. Chatroulette has dissolved into what ''New York Times ''writer Jenna Wortham calls the "Chatroulette Genre." Speaking of these shoot-off sites, Ternovsky stated "it is always cool for me to see other kinds of ‘roulette’ sites out there,” he said. “If people like it, then why not? For a long time, people did not feel comfortable to broadcast their emotions and actual selves on the Web, and this offers that.” '''Airtime - Connects through Facebook account to ensure accountability and G-rated content. BlurryPeople - Designed to promote messaging over viewing, the video browser slowly comes into focus the more its participants chat. Chatmeet - An app designed specifically for Android users. 'ChatRandom - '''The site functions exactly like Chatroulette, though it has gained popularity due to its easy accessibility. There is no sign-up or login required, and it currently received more than 200,000 visitors each month. '''Facelette - '''A short-lived, though popular version of Chatroulette for '''Paltalk '- Archives a social network of people you encounter. You can add friends and talk to them later. Conclusion Chatroulette is an incredibly versatile tool which can be utilized to achieve a variety of ends. The site can be viewed as both social and ‘anti-social’ media, depending on the individual’s unique experience. Professionals and casual users alike have varying opinions on the platform, calling it both revolutionary and reactionary. The website has the incredible potential of linking people from all walks of life, from all around the globe, regardless of race, nationality, or religion. If used correctly, it has the ability to foster some meaningful -- if not short-lived -- relationships. Contrarily, users’ experiences of the website may be tainted by the overwhelming presence of sexually explicit content. With BBC estimating that just under 40% of the Internet is composed of pornographic material, it's hardly a surprising fact that the website has devolved to a largely pornographic vehicle.